Taylorcraft L-2

Taylorcraft L-2 Grasshopper
Restored L-2M with the marks of Operation Overlord
Type:	Light liaison and reconnaissance aircraft
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Taylorcraft Aviation
First flight:	September 1941 (procurement of four civilian Taylorcraft DC-65s as YO-57)
Commissioning:	1941
Number of pieces:	1891

The Taylorcraft L-2 Grasshopper was a light liaison and reconnaissance aircraft used by the US Army.

Overview

The pre-war Taylorcraft Model D Tandem Trainer was designated by the Army as the O-57 and successfully field tested in Louisiana and Texas in the summer of 1941. When the US entered World War II a short time later, the O-57 was used in a similar way to the balloons of World War I for observation of enemy troops, as an artillery observer and as a courier service between its own positions. Wherever the use of short, unpaved take-off and landing areas was required, the O-57 or similar models were used. An order for 70 copies of the O-57 was followed by the delivery of an improved version with radio and improved all-round visibility of around 340 copies called the O-57A.

In 1948, the US Air Force aircraft designation system was changed. So the O-57 was renamed the L-2 . Improvements led to the versions L-2B and L-2M, some civilian models from Taylorcraft were transferred to the army as L-2C and L-2L. From a version without a motor for the training of glider pilots (mainly as preparation for landing in Normandy ) 253 pieces were produced as Taylorcraft TG-6 . After the Second World War, some L-2s served in the air forces in various countries, others went to civilian owners who continued to operate them as inexpensive " warbirds ".

The nickname "Grasshopper" (in German: grasshopper), which the L-2 got from the soldiers immediately after commissioning, it shared with the Piper L-4 , the Aeronca L-3 and the Interstate L-6 .

production

Model	delivered quantity
YO-57 (from early 1942: L-2)	4th
O-57 (L-2)	21st
O-57A (L-2A)	336
L-2A	140
L-2B	490
L-2M	900

Total production: 1891 machines. In addition there were 52 requisitioned civil Taylorcraft of different versions, which were given the designations L-2C, L-2D, L-2E, L-2F, L-2G, L-2H and L-2J.

Acceptance of the Taylorcraft L-2 by the USAAF:

version	1941	1942	1943	1944	TOTAL
L-2	24	529	1,161	226	1,940
TG-6		253			253
TOTAL	24	782	1,161	226	2,193

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
length	6.93 m
span	10.97 m
height	2.03 m
Empty weight	397 kg
Maximum weight	590 kg
Engine designation	Continental O-170 -3
power	65 hp (start)
Top speed	164 km / h
Use radius	365 km
Service ceiling	3,657 m

See also

• List of aircraft types

Web links

Commons : Taylorcraft L-2  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• L-2 at "Warbird Alley" (eng)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Chet Peek: The Taylor Craft Story , Aviation Heritage Library Series, 1992, p 153
2. ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1946, p. 100 ff.